Got a neat letter today!

[ragedracer1977]

Long prior owner of my C sent me a letter.  He owned her for 19 years, mid 70's to mid 90's.  Used to fly her from Virginia to Port Au Prince, Haiti several times a year, refueling in Georgetown, Bahamas.  That's a lot of time over the water!  Also told me she was featured in a GA promotion video filmed at Manassas airport and the video played at the Smithsonian for many many years.  Sure would love to get my hands on that video!  I replied to him (he supplied his email) and asked if he had any old pictures or anything.  Sure would be neat to see some old pictures and that video would be awesome!

[MB65E]

That would be the closest any of my airplanes get to the  Smithsonian! Neat story.

-Matt

[Cooperd0g]

Did he find you by the registration number?

[mooney driver]

wow!....good stuff!!!  hope ya  find that video!..would love to see it too!!

[ragedracer1977]

17 minutes ago, Cooperd0g said:

Did he find you by the registration number?

Yes

[carusoam]

Caution: Caution: Caution

Great story, but continue to look for facts to back it up...

Something sounds a bit fishy.  Do your logs actually show him as the prior owner, does the plane logs show any maintenance done in those far away places?

Best regards,

-a-

[ragedracer1977]

11 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Caution: Caution: Caution

Great story, but continue to look for facts to back it up...

Something sounds a bit fishy.  Do your logs actually show him as the prior owner, does the plane logs show any maintenance done in those far away places?

Best regards,

-a-

Yes, it does.  He owned it from 1974-1993.  He was an EAA chapter President not long ago, although I imagine he's pushing 80 these days.  The last info I can find about him showed him very active in the GA community around '05.  Last medical was around that date as well.  

He said he's going to send me some pictures of the plane when he owned it, says he has photos of it on the ramp in Haiti.  And, no, logs don't show maintenance from Haiti, but that means nothing.  I don't know what sounds fishy?

[carusoam]

It definitely appears to be a nice connection.  There are wonderful people around the world... Often, they fly Mooneys.  

There are also some un-nice people that do access public records.

My words of caution are intended to be a reminder to make sure some unscrupulous person isn't impersonating the person you believe he is.

MSers get a few different weird attempts by outside people.   Sometimes they appear to be selling nice radios.  Sometimes they appear to be selling whole airplanes... carribean islands and Africa are hotbeds of this type of activity...

The one thing they have in common...  a person that wants to believe...

 

it can be a challenge to separate the real from the not real.

This story is so good, I got the 'too good to be true' feeling....

Kind of like old guy, fatherly advice, isn't it?  Dad's do this all the time...   Carry on... 

Best regards,

-a-

 

[ragedracer1977]

Got a couple pictures today!

Sorry, can't figure out how to rotate them from my phone

[carusoam]

Fancy wingtips, nicely sloped windshield, super nice paint, and racing numbers...

Hints that an early 60’s plane was well loved.

See @Marauder for hints of how to rotate photos.

Best regards,

-a-

[DanM20C]

That's awesome. I have reached out to all of the current owners of the planes my dad owned when I was growing up. They all acted as if I was bothering them.  I just wanted to share photos and stories from the past. I'm glad you are receptive and appreciative of this previous owner contacting you.   Airplanes are unique and many of us owners tend to have a connection to them that is deep.  I'm the 40th owner of my Ercoupe. I have to believe there are photos and stories somewhere out there from from previous owners and their families. I would love to hear from them.